103. Leipzig Day 2: The Southern Sector - WDS Campaign Leipzig
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| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 6 |
| Turns: | 66 |
| Type: | Custom |
| First Side: | French (Nap) |
| Second Side: | Allies (Nap) |
18 October 1813 - Historical - Intended to be played Head to Head - The 18th was the decisive day of the Battle of Leipzig. The Polish Reserve army had arrived as well as Bubna's 2nd Light (Austrian) Division and the Austrian 1 Corps. The Army of the North was due to arrive during the morning. The Allied plan lacked any originality looking only to bring up the arriving troops to form a large ring around the French positions east of the Elster. The Austrian troops facing Lindenau would be brushed aside by Bertrand and the Young Guard. Thus the Allies gave away any chance of cutting off the retreat route of Napoleon's army and probably allowed the war to continue on into 1814 as a result of their simplistic plan. Nevertheless the action of the 18th would prove to be more than a rearguard action for Napoleon's retreating army. As the morning maneuvers started the Allies were surprised to find that during the night the French had pulled back from their former lines in the south leaving only a series of outposts manning their former positions. Thus the early assault of the Army of Bohemia fell on air. Blücher had done well on the morning of the 17th in smashing the elements of Marmont's command that had foolishly remained on the north bank of the Parthe. Now he would vainly wait on Bernadotte's Army of the North to arrive. This army would not be ready for action until the mid afternoon period due to the lack of agressiveness on the part of its commander. Blücher resorted to allowing his forces to be subordinated to Bernadotte in order to get some action out of the Swedish Crown Prince. Meanwhile, the Allied assault was finding that the French were determined to hold their ground. Bertrand sent the elements of the Austrian forces west of Lindenau reeling as his IV Corps and the Young Guard corps made their way west to secure a retreat route. Murat was finding that the Allied assault in the south lacked any real punch. The Reserve Polish Army attempted in vain to wrest Holzhausen away from Macdonald's Corps. The Russians under Barclay and Wittgenstein in the south were too weak to make much headway after taking Liebertwolkwitz. The Austrians under Alois Liechtenstein and Hessen-Homburg had difficulty with the French situated in Dölitz and only were able to take it after a stiff fight. The Prussians under Kleist had lost much in the last few days but were still able to press on to Wachau and beyond and make things difficult for the French. By mid afternoon the forces in the north had moved east and crossed the Parthe and assaulted the main French line of VII (Saxon) and VI Corps (with III Corps aiding the defense). The defection of the Saxons (part) did some harm to the lines but the Allies mainly lacked the drive to fully exploit their successes. By the end of the day the French had lost some key ground but their army seemed to be on the verge of escaping the noose. Events on the 19th of course would show that Napoleon had probably lost an opportunity to slip away on the night of the 17th. Nonetheless the action of the 18th where the Allies would finally be able to bring their manpower advantage into the battle was the culmination of the campaign and nothing Napoleon could do would bring victory on this day.
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